# 1031 Exchange in Florida: Rules, Taxes, and Why It's Popular

> Florida 1031 exchange rules: no state income tax on the gain, but doc stamps and note taxes still apply — plus the clawback trap when exchanging in from other states.

By [Adam Kalimi](https://whosetitle.com/author/adam-kalimi) · Published 2026-07-28 · Updated 2026-07-28

Canonical: https://whosetitle.com/blog/1031-exchange-florida

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Florida is one of the easiest states in the country to run a 1031 exchange — and one of the most popular to exchange *into*. The reason is simple: Florida has no state income tax, so the only capital gains tax you're deferring is federal. No state conformity questions, no annual tracking forms, no clawback when you eventually sell.

That doesn't make a Florida exchange paperwork-free. Here's what applies, what doesn't, and the one trap that follows out-of-state investors in.

## The federal rules are the whole game

With no state income tax, a Florida exchange is governed entirely by [the federal 1031 rules](/blog/1031-exchange-guide):

- **45 days** to identify replacement property in writing, **180 days** to close — both from your sale date. Print your dates with the [deadline calculator](/free-tools/1031-exchange-deadline-calculator).
- A [qualified intermediary](/glossary/qualified-intermediary) must hold the proceeds — they can never touch your account.
- Reinvest all equity and match or exceed the debt, or the difference is taxable [boot](/glossary/boot-1031-exchange).

## What Florida charges anyway

A 1031 exchange defers *income* tax. Florida's transaction taxes are due at every closing, exchange or not:

```viz-stats
{
  "items": [
    { "value": "$0.70", "label": "Documentary stamp tax per $100 of sale price on the deed (Miami-Dade differs)" },
    { "value": "$0.35 + 2 mills", "label": "Note doc stamps per $100 borrowed, plus intangible tax on a new mortgage" },
    { "value": "$0", "label": "Florida income tax on the deferred gain — there is none to defer" }
  ],
  "note": "Doc stamps are a closing cost, not a gain tax — a 1031 exchange does not make them go away."
}
```

Deed doc stamps run **$0.70 per $100** of the price in most counties (Miami-Dade charges $0.60 plus a surtax on some property types). Financing the replacement adds note stamps and the intangible tax on the new mortgage. Budget for these like any closing cost — they're small next to the federal tax you're deferring, but they surprise people who heard "1031" and expected zero tax at the table.

Also worth knowing: the property-tax assessment resets at sale in Florida. The Save Our Homes cap that kept the seller's assessed value low doesn't transfer to an investor — underwrite on your purchase price, not the seller's tax bill.

## The trap: your old state may follow you in

Exchange a California or Oregon rental into a Tampa duplex and the federal-and-Florida picture is clean — but your *origin* state may not let go. California in particular treats the gain that accrued there as California-source income forever and requires an annual Form 3840 filing; when you eventually sell the Florida property in a taxable sale, California collects its share of the old deferred gain. We cover this in detail in the [California guide](/blog/1031-exchange-california). Florida adds nothing on its end — the clawback is entirely your former state's doing.

## The 45-day search, on Florida inventory

Florida is an inbound-exchange magnet, which means replacement inventory moves fast and the 45-day identification window is the pinch point. WhoseTitle covers Florida county records deeply — circle a neighborhood and pull every owner with tenure and equity signals, free, straight from the county rolls. See [free property owner data for Florida](/blog/free-property-owner-data-florida) for how to work the counties, and use the [1031 capital gains calculator](/free-tools/1031-exchange-capital-gains-calculator) to see the federal bill you're deferring before you commit.

*General information, not tax or legal advice. Doc-stamp rates and surtaxes vary by county and property type — confirm your numbers with a CPA and a qualified intermediary.*